Stevie

24 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

And it lights up in the dark...

Almost to much pleasure. Do you have a photo as well ?

Great, certainly fills the bus, without need for passengers or a driver. Thanks for sharing with us.

3 hours ago, JohnS said:

Perhaps the kudos of posting such a photo will be prize enough?

Maybe, if it was the 168A.

1 hour ago, alison said:

I must admit, I never thought I'd see the day when Francesca Hayward's name graced the side of a bus, but there you are ...

I would love to see that, but with no similar posters here, can you post an image for us ?

6 hours ago, Tebasile said:

Oh dear, silly joke, I believe the serious discussion was elsewhere

Had to search on Google to see the joke and what a joke it was. Was there an outcome at the time, or some sort on 'punch line'.

19 minutes ago, Tebasile said:

Bayadère getting later and later... Perhaps they're busy editing out all the culturally insensitive aspects.

Perhaps I am just not that sensitive or that I missed what parts were considered culturally insensitive, or that some are overly sensitive. It was written at I time when there was fascination with everything eastern, with very little being known about it. Would anyone care to expand on the insensitivity matters, I was just focussed on the music and the performances..

2 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

writing - a Principal dancer at the RB - is obviously too much effort...

It would appear that it is nothing more than the writer being unaware that there is more than one Principal in a ballet company, or alternatively unaware that in the English language the reference 'The Principal' is singular and not plural. Unlike the education profession, where there is a role of 'The Principal'.

Isobel Frodsham, Evening Standard writings, more tuned to commentaries on TV programmes such as 'I'm a Celebrity, get Me Out of Here'. Says it all .

Although CATS is due to be released on 20th December, I still can't find any cinemas advertising tickets for sale yet.  I will be giving it a try when it is screened, hopefully the week before Christmas.

On ‎13‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 20:33, David said:

 

I followed your advice last Nov and acquired this company's Nutcracker and Carmina Burana and am really pleased with them so I think you're safe! Thanks's for the head's up on their latest release. I look forward to it.

Nice to hear you are pleased with them. I think I based my recommendation on the production qualities of this company. However, the artistic quality of the cast has been an added consideration in this instance. It stars Ukraine principle Natalia Matsak in the dual Swan roles and an excellent supporting cast.

We can see her complete  Giselle, with this same company,  free on youtube channel, link attached. Unfortunately it is not available to buy.

https://youtu.be/Eo4yRCcty0k

On ‎18‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 14:36, bridiem said:

I have no idea what anyone is talking about.  

I have a TV that I inherited from my late mother.  

I know that when it 'needs' replacing (i.e. when I can no longer resist the concept of being able to access the internet through my TV) I will have to do huge amounts of research to find out what everyone else already seems to know.

I comfort myself with the thought that my late father, a highly intelligent lawyer, would have had no idea what anyone is talking about either. He retired before he had to use a computer, which is just as well since he would rapidly have become unemployable.

Don't underestimate your late father, it wouldn't have taken him long. I remember when Computerised Maintenance Management Systems were first introduced in the workplace and it was only weeks before everyone was up to speed and driving forward its introduction and development.

Amazon have listed for release on 6th December 19. Swan Lake from Kiev, National Ballet of the Ukraine, with Natalya Matsak in the lead role. This appears to be a version worth having, so having 13 versions already, it gives me a dilemma.

Attached amateur camera footage of Natalia Matsak in the performance, not an extract from the DVD/Blu-ray print.

FAO Alison

Only Samsung still make Plasma TV. Everyone else has ditched the technology.

I doubt that you would get sufficient benefit from Blu-ray on a 28", you would need specially good eyesight. I think your main disadvantage is that most classical DVD's are produced in the lower definition American system of NTSC. A few are in the higher definition European PAL. Blu-ray is far superior to NTSC and in most cases better than PAL.  Check when you purchase because a few DVD's are marketed in the UK in both formats and UK DVD players will play both. Examples are The Bolshoi 'The Pharaohs Daughter' and 'Excelsior' - Manzotti, but there are many others. They are available in both PAL & NTSC,  but it is best to buy the PAL version, if not the Blu-ray. Amazon states the version and complaints are that they often get it wrong. Check the art work on the back cover.

16 hours ago, alison said:

Yes, not everyone has superfast broadband on tap.

I have fast fibre, and frankly it is not noticeably any better than the previous Broadband. And my test figures tell me it is fast. So until there are significant  technical adnances to internet streaming, I think the future of DVD and Blu-ray is secure. 

On ‎16‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 01:23, loveclassics said:

Is watching ballet recorded 'live' from the ROH stage vastly improved by the Blue-ray format?  I assume that DVDs are on the way out and I need to buy  new equipment anyway but I don't find HD makes a major diference so is it worth going to a new format? 

 

Linda

HD and Blu-ray gives most benefit on screen sizes 42" and upwards. A Blu-ray player is capable of reading 20 times more data than a DVD player and similarly much more data can be stored on a Blu-ray disc, giving much more cabability for HD picture and sound. On smaller screen sizes, the visual benefits are less pronounced. Blu -ray players are now available quite cheaply and a worthy investment if buying a new machine. They will still play all your old DVD's and in most cases give higher definition than a DVD player, so no need to change your collection.

Of course it can only play as clearly as the original recorded material and some older videos have been transferred to Blu - ray with no noticeable improvement.

The quality of streaming via Internet is quite variable, even with fast fibre and in my opinion , does not come close to Blu -ray quality. Of course it depends what an individual is satisfied with.

I have never used Europadisc, so don't know what they are like. Whenever I have checked them out, I have found their delivery charges to be excessive, up to £2.50 for a DVD. I use Musicmagpie and SpeedyHen, because their delivery charges are free, what you see is what you pay. I see that Europadisc are currently advertising Mayerling at £23.36, plus £2.50 p&p, giving a total of £25.86, as apposed to SpeedyHen at £23.02 all in, for the same product.

Ignore Amazon, they are only distributing the blu-ray at the moment, for reasons best known to themselves. The DVD however is available in warehouses, ready to pre order. Best buy from the UK at the moment is via 'Speedy Hen UK'. They are taking pre-orders for DVD at £23.02 and Blu-ray at £26.49, free postage & packing. I have used them for years,shipped from the UK and much more reliable than Amazon, they actually have a living, communicating, human, customer services department, which is contactable.

42 minutes ago, HappyTurk said:

Will there be a DVD for the last Don Quixote cinema showing with Takada and Campbell?

With the release on DVD & Blue Ray of just over five years ago, I wouldn't expect them to release it again so soon. However they are doing some strange things, so who knows.

12 hours ago, alison said:

No cash outlay from me forthcoming, that's for sure.  I do think the ROH are getting a little silly with the frequency of some of their releases.

Cash outlay is one problem, but there is also a practical problem with what to do with them, if you don't sell them on after watching. I have tended to hold on to them, filing and cataloguing them.  It now extends to 204 ballet DVD & blu-rays with some of them boxed sets and this growing rapidly in trying to keep up with new and repeat releases. It takes up a lot of space, in addition to the Opera, Musicals, Shows and other collections.

I don't believe they can be transferred to memory stick. They can be kept in compact plastic wallets which take up little space, but I have always wanted to keep the cases with art work and booklets. With a choice, I would own everything,  bur space is now dictating whether I have a choice or not.

I was wondering what everyone else does to get around the storage problem ?

4 hours ago, Beryl H said:

Amazon have a Mayerling DVD and Blu Ray release date of 2nd August, this is the McRae/Lamb cast, I didn't see the cinema relay but thought Steven McRae was wonderful with Akane Takada a short while later after Sarah Lamb was injured, would love to have that performance on disc, but nice to be able to see Sarah Lamb now!

I have the 2010 Blu-ray release, also including  Sarah Lamb, but with Ed Watson and Mara Galeazzi, which  was rather good and with excellent resolution. Also the earlier version in which Darcey Bussell makes an appearance. It would be useful if someone knowledgeable and free of commercial interests, could make an appraisal to judge what, if anything, this new release brings to the equation. There would need to be a significant gain before deciding to make this extra cash outlay. I did see this cinema relay, but can't remember if it brought anything new.

I enjoyed this offering from Mariinsky TV. Can anyone confirm if the dancer in the slow PDD is Alina Somova.

https://youtu.be/GeL-4hVkw7o

Thanks for this massive prompt to me. This could be a big opportunity here for me to save money or to do some catching up. Just received the Cranko Stuttgart version on Friday, but haven't watched it yet. Then realised I already have the Cuthbertson/Bonelli version but haven't watched it yet., and the Acosta/Rojo version, not watched  yet. The La Scala Misty Copeland/Bolle version, not watched yet. POB Legris/Loudieres, not watched. Checking further, I have watched my Mariinsky Vishneva/Schkylarov copy and a few of the variants, like Matz Ek and Ballet de Monte Carlo. Just wandering where to start now.

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Dave, I know very little about classical music either but agree with every word of your post!  I was blown away by Flight Pattern.

A good mix, some don't like Gorecki music, some don't like the ballet, but like the music, some changes of mind,  some don't like either and some like both. Sounds like another referendum may be needed.

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

 

This 'correct version' extract is from the middle movement surely (Flight Pattern uses the first), so not sure what that proves. The version I'm most familiar with (and I imagine most of the CFM listeners and/or TV viewers that saw it) was the Dawn Upshaw version, who is hardly 'wobble-free' so to speak. I love that version, so wasn't that enamoured by the version used for Flight Pattern - though I did love Flight Pattern in its own right. I don't know enough about classical music (especially when sung) to really make an informed comment about things like the tempi or the voice-wobble, but all I know is that Flight Pattern moved me to my core, and was helped to that by the music, imperfect as it may have been...

 

 

I can only give you the CD version of the first movement as there is no visual reproduction. This is the stated tempo required by the composer. The London Sinfonietta version was to fast as well. Presumably RB to suit the choreographer. Hope this helps.

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I was expressing a difference of taste in a light-hearted way. I don’t think that gives permission to be rude.

A quote from 'Urban Dictionary' or any Dictionary cannot be considered rude when they merely provide a meaning.  Of course there are different musical tastes, which most people accept. Perhaps you did an injustice in describing yourself as a 'musical snob', when you are not at all ?  Sometimes difficult to detect what is 'light hearted', in writing, without the Imogi.

There remains the fact, that as of April 2019, Gorecki Symphony Number 3 remains the top of the CFM charts, which it first topped in 1992 and has remained there for most of the time since. Maybe CFM is not everyone's choice, but that's an extremely popular piece of music, impressing a significant proportion  of the population, even without your own support.

30 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

Well - I don’t want to fan any flames but I’m afraid I’m too much of a musical snob to like the piece in the first place, so that aspect didn’t bother me.

Not knowing what constituted a musical snob, I decided to Google it and this is what it told me :-

'a person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field:' a musical snob.

So no surprises really, that it is only a belief.